The End of Great Expectations.

Yesterday's class discussion was very thought-provoking about the idea of 'success.' And what is 'success'? Is it the end product of a goal or intention that you set up to do? Or is it the steps that get you to achieve a certain that particular goal or intention? As discussed in class, sometimes external forces intervene in the way of accomplishing something that causes it to not come about as you may plan to. In Pip's case, I think his success of becoming a gentleman depended on the hard experiences that he went thorough as well as his realization of the mistakes he did in regards to not staying close to Joe and Magwitch. But even that is success because it is through mistakes that one is able to learn and move forward. We are not perfect, and gentlemen are no exception to the rule. Worthswood reminded us of that in the poem we read for class when he said that we have no control of the outcomes of our decisions as much as we plan it.

Sometimes we also have expectations for other people without understanding what it is that we are asking for. Although Magwitch fought so hard so that Pip could become a gentleman, maybe Pip wanted just a little bit of care and love from his father more than becoming a gentleman. Thus, in my opinion, it is important to consider people's life, skills, and desires before expecting something from them. In the end, it is the life of the individual that is going to be affected and they have the right to live their lives as they want. This is also the case with our own lives: Are we expecting something that 'we' want for ourselves? Or is it other people's expectations that we are living by? These are critical questions that Pip was questioning in his life as he was becoming a gentleman and that it is also important for us to reflect upon.